Ch 4 Self and Identity

issues with iterations of differentiation and integration for more complex self

some parts of it could be wrong (does not reflect reality) as differentiation has potential to fracture self-concept and self experiences cognitive and affective tensions btwn accuracy, consistency, and enhacnement

types of self-inspection for self-knowledge

introspection, retrospection, and prospection

retrospection

examination of one’s past experiences and behaviors

prospection

examination of one’s possible future experiences, feelings, and behaviors

self-knowledge

understanding of patterns of thoughts, feelings, motivation, and behaviors plus how other perceive the patterns from self-inspection; cannot be accurate

how epiphany’s can affect self-concept

distressing and exciting to self-concept

level of accuracy important for well-being as

unrealistic self-knowledge makes overestimation of skills leading to failures and lower life satisfaction

objective accuracy

typically meaning in accuracy, correct in a way that has some universal truth to it

example of objective accuracy

stating an incorrect reason behind outcome, but predicts that outcome without understanding why it happened

pragmatic accuracy

something is true within that context, even though it is not true overall, or belief is functional even though it is wrong

example of pragmatic accuracy

person got what they expected believing they knew why, even though they did not really know why

what must be had first to have self-knowledge

have self-awareness

metaphor for self-awareness and self-knowledge

self-awareness is like multiple choice test, self-knowledge is like an open-ended exam

five sources contributing to self-knowledge

physical world, social comparison, reflected appraisal, introspection, and self perception

physical world as source for self-knowledge

concrete, measurable, categorizable like height

social comparison as source for self-knowledge

contrasting self with others like better than Igor

reflected appraisal as a source for self-knowledge

assumptions how others see us like praise from another

introspection as source of self-knowledge

inward observation like verbalizing why thinking/feeling

self-perception as source of self-knowledge

observing our behavior like noticing action towards another

reflected appraisal

evaluating the self through beliefs about how others view us; such as children showing sense of self through observing self in mirror; analyzed through social interactions

looking-glass self

image of who we are as we think others see us

differences between reflected appraisal and looking glass self

looking-glass is for explaining development of self-concept, meanwhile reflected appraisal is more about evaluating an existing self-concept

two important points in reflected appraisal

beliefs about one’s low level of worth influence perceptions that others think we have low worth and reliability in others perceptions of us could be completely invalid as it is not their actual appraisal

social comparison

contrasting ourself with another person when we are uncertain of our beliefs or abilities with three different processes (objective, upward social, and downward social) often implicitly

objective comparison with social comparison

information that’s gathered when examining how we compare to others gives accurate appraisal of current self

upward social comparison with social comparison

contrasting the self with another person who is more skilled to target self-improvement

downwards social comparison with social comparison

contrast self with another who is less skilled to engage in self-enhancement

self-enhancement

tendency to maintain unrealistically positive views of the self; theorized as a way to compensate for lack of self-esteem

self composition order

self-schema → several specific self-concepts →global self-concept

differentiation-integration process with self-concept effects

coherent self-concept is possible with differentiation-integration process, so incoherent self-concept appears with unsuccessful differentiation-integration process

self-concept clarity

extent to which one’s cognirep of their being are clear, consistent, and held with confidence; make choices feel meaningful

schema

mental framework for processing and understanding information

information does not fit with schema, process to change in order to process information

assimilation or accommodation

assimilation

changing information to match with an existing schema

accommodation

adapting a schema to allow information to be processed as it is

consistency in terms of competence

gives sense of prediction, giving sense of control, which gives sense of ability to function effectively in environment

self-verification theory

theory that people are motivated to maintain firmly held self-concepts and take action leading other to perceive them as they see themselves

self-verification

any process that confirms the self-concept through feedback from others in three main ways (selective interaction, self-presentation, and behave in ways to elicit desired feedback)

selective interaction for self-verification

interacting with those who treat us in self-verifying ways such as dating “dumb” person to get “you’re so smart” feedback

self-presentation for self-verification

display their identity through symbols such as clothing

psychological hedonism

decreasing negative views of self or increasing positive views of self

forms of self-enhancement

self-serving attribution and unrealistic optimism

self-serving attribution for self-enhancement

taking credit for positive outcomes and placing blame for negative outcomes

unrealistic optimism for self-enhancement

predict a future outcome will be better for the self than the average person

dunning-kruger effect

overestimating our ability due to lack of self-awareness in that domain

self-enhancement and self-verification

self-verification suggests desire to confirm and stabilize self-concept is just as strong as desire to enhance self-concept

cognitive dissonance theory

states that people want consistency in thoughts and behaviors that are motivated to reduced inconsistencies that create tension

self-perception theory

states that people observe their behavior in context and make conclusions about their attitudes in the same way that any observer would

self-consistency

describes how people maintain consistency with their thoughts, behaviors, and belief

feedback

information provided to an individual about their behavior, performance, or understanding, which can be used to guide future actions and potentially improve their performance

amygdala

emotional processing and memory, and decision-making

hippocampus

details memory and spatial navigation